Thursday, August 11, 2011

Heather and Heaths are beautiful evergreen shrubs year round in my zone 5/6 area. I love Heather, these are such beautiful plants with their fine needle foliage and are evergreen. Most are smaller ranging in size from 6 inches to 18 inches. The ones shown here that are blooming right now are Heath Erica's except for the one Williamsii and are all summer bloomers and tolerate alkaline soil. My soil being both neutral and clay, these are a few that have worked out for me.

Mrs Donaldson is a beautiful Heath Erica and is putting out full blooms now that are lovely and is one of my favorites.

Heath E. Yellow John. This is one that I got strictly for it's stunning yellow foliage, but the white flowers are also lovely and are just starting to open some buds. You can't ask for more than lovely blooms, lovely foliage, and evergreen.

This lovely Heath Williamsii is Ken Wilson, another stunning plant when in full bloom. You can see how lovely already and just starting to open up buds.

Heath E. Ida M Britten has been in bloom a little longer and starting to lose some of hers now but still lovely.

Heath E. Mrs D F Maxwell is a lovely Heather and just starting to display and open some blooms. She's another stunning one in bloom.

That flower must be what we call "Ljung " in Sweden. It´s an autumn flower in Sweden and in about september/october everyone grow them in pots.Very lovely one´s you show us and I like Mrs Donaldson at the most.Hugs Susanne

What a valuable post... I'm bookmarking it for future reference. I've tried heathers often in the past and had extremely poor luck... I would so love them mixed with my dwarf conifers, but our soil is also neutral and we are zone five. I truly appreciate the info that you've provided... may I ask what your source is on these cultivars? Than you, Larry

Hi CherI enjoyed seeing all your named plants, to me that's important for reference and recommendations.I'm not sure if I could grow these in our area even though I have the clay. Might have to just enjoy yours.Judith

Beautiful flowers, I didn't know Heather is a flower. I don't know much about flowers actually, except roses and daisies and carnations. But I have basil, rosemary and coriander on my balcony back home in Sicily. Luckily my husband remembers to water them, I don't have a green thumb. I do love gardens though. I'm following you from Rome, we're here for the summer. I found you through my friend melogranoantico and I'm following you from now. Have a nice weekend!

I like to plant heather in tubs and hanging baskets for winter colour. You can't beat seeing it in it's natural habitat like the Scottish Highlands.Thanks for stopping by my blog. Always good to meet fellow gardeners x

Cher, I loved seeing those heathers! I don't think they do well, here, in the midwest...I rarely see them. We saw them when traveling the east coast, I think you hit on the head about the acidity, whatever your pH is, you got it right! They almost look like sedum, don't you think?

What a pretty collection of Heathers. I've never attempted to grow them in my southern Ontario garden, but I should, They'd be great as stand-alone plants or along borders to break up the lavenders. Very nice. Thanks for sharing.Lorraine at RomanticGardening.com And thank you for stopping by my blog earlier today.

Hi. I have come to you by way of Heather's Fields. What a sad post today about the brute of an Elk destroying her garden. I love your hydrangea and am quite curious as to your secret for getting them to do so well. I planted one last summer and it failed to come back this spring. I want to plant another one this fall. Any tips for zone 5 (Northern Colorado) on how to amend soil and protect it over the winter? Love your heathers too.

Hi Ann. Hydrangeas depend on the type you get. I only buy the Hydrangea Paniculata. A lot of people buy the Macrophylla which doesn't do well here way too often. The ones I have listed do well up North. I don't amend my soil period. I have clay and I'm not going to try and make it anything else. It has to survive here period. :) Any other questions please feel free to ask. You can email me also from my profile.Cher